Roll with the punches...tomorrow is another day

Okay so I stole the title for the post from the movie Jerry Maguire, which is not exactly my favourite, but the point of the quote seems fitting for the context of the blog post.

On our Skeeter Farm blog we have tended to focus on writing nice shiney, happy posts about things like sunshine, bountiful harvests and lady bugs, the sense of community, success of our business and hopes and dreams for the future. I would say what we talk about paints a 90% accurate depiction of our experiences farming thus far. What we have hesitated telling our readers about is that other 10% of the time where we are dirty, sweaty, sore, have feelings of frustration and defeat, unhappy about something or other and all the time spent scratching our hundreds of bug bites. These not so great things I think we have come to realize are part of farming, growing and running a business in partnership, and life in general.

Overall, we have managed to balance out the good with the not so great and come out on top which is really our motivation to keep on going. BUT, then something really crappy happens that in some ways knocks us back to square one.

This week we discovered that the farm had been broken into (for the second time) and most of our equipment that we worked hard to purchase last year is gone. Most of our irrigation system, our (borrowed) rototiller, marketing supplies, and other misc. items that are to us, very valuable but to anyone other than a small farmer, are probably worth very little, were stolen.

Now, its not really surprising that our site would be a target to thieves. We are pretty isolated with no neighbours in earshot of the site, and no one living on the farm. We thought we had taken reasonable measures to lock up our equipment but obviously what we had done was no deterrent for the thieves.

The more we talk about what has happened, the more stories we are hearing about how this is actually a pretty common occurrence in the farming world. Which, for any farmer I would imagine is really hard to deal with. It stinks to think about our profits being cut this year by having to purchase our equipment again. And if we do manage to replace what we have lost, how do we keep it from being stolen again?

Post break-in discovery we wallowed in our frustration and hopelessness for a bit but have now switched to problem solving mode. We are trying to figure out how increase the security of our storage, and come up with creative ways to replace what we have lost without going out and buying brand new shiny equipment. We scouring craigslist to see if our equipment turns up and trying to talk to as much people as possible to raise awareness of this issue that leaves new farmers and their potential success vulnerable to the motives of the thieves of the world.

Hannah said to me the other day that if this had happened to us last year, she wouldn't be farming. I think that may be true for myself too...having our equipment stolen in our first season would have been enough to turn us away from trying to start a farm business forever. With that, I am thankful that we have had a season under our belt and have been able to experience the joys that come with growing food for our community and I am thankful that this didn't happen midseason in the height of things and I am thankful for all of the things that we do still have, like our seeds, that we will need to continue this season. We are all thankful for the support folks have offered us in these trying times.

I would imagine that the farm bandits who took advantage of Skeeter Farm are much less cute than us.

-Amy

And then there were four!

Hooray! We are super excited and thankful to have found a fourth person to join Skeeter Farm for this season.

Amanda Smith was one of the many wonderful folks who sent in an "application" to farm with us this summer and we would like to welcome her to our team! We were surprised and overwhelmed with the interest in joining us this season. The amount of emails we had about our posted position is really a testament to the growing interest in farming around the Lower Mainland, dispite what popular discourse may lead you to believe.

Amanda, like the three of us, has a full time job and resides in the Township of Langley. She has no prior "farming" experience but her passion for food and farming shines through when she gets talking. We will spend the next few weeks getting her up to speed on how we do things around the farm before the season takes off.

The addition of one more dedicated farmer is a real plus this year as we learned last year that our biggest limiting factor was time. Its one thing to have the time to prepare your soil, plant a bunch of seeds, and maintain your crops...but its a whole other ball game when it comes to getting crops out of the field, prepped and marketed. Amanda will be helping us in the field but is also very interested in the farmers market side of things. We are hoping that the addition of one more farmer is just the thing we need to help us reach our business goals this year.

Welcome to Amanda!

Lil' Update from your Farmers

Although we have not be regularly communicating via the blog as of late, there has been a flurry of activity in the last couple of months to get ready for the season. A quick recap for those folks who are interested:

- we have launched our CSA program for the year and information is up a the blog on a posting below

- we are looking for a fourth person on for the farm. We have received quite a few "applications" from interested folks and have begun to meet people, but would still like to hear from more. Even if you don't become our next business partner there are still other ways to get involved in farming and we would like to talk to you!

- the seeds have arrived (for the most part), and we are way ahead on starting transplants this year when compared to last year. Getting an earlier start also means that we can grow a much broader variety of crops

- we purchased a 90' hoop house which has successfully arrived at the site. The next step is to get it erected. In the meantime we are lucky to have the use of two other greenhouses for our transplants

- quite a few building projects planned including bat houses, tables, some kind of sheltered area and a bit more storage for equipment.

- the garlic is 4" high!

- business planning, financial statements, time tracking, blah. I am so happy that Hannah has volunteered to be the business management lead this year. It means that I can concentrate on crop planning and planting and the things that I like to do.

- our website is up.... almost. www.skeeterfarm.com. It looks good if you use a mac. But PC users wont be able to view it properly. the problem should be fixed soon. it was my first time building a website so there were certainly some errors made on my part.

Thanks everyone for your support so far this year. It has been great hearing from some of our regular customers and also meeting some new ones!

Happy to be getting dirty again...

Amy

Spring Inspiration

Winter is over?

I am super excited about the release of this documentary by the Greenhorns about young farmers in the US. The work they do and passion they exude is such a huge inspiration for young and new farmers beyond their borders...

Their blog is always filled with good stuff too. http://thegreenhorns.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!

Amy

GH_Peek in Progress from The Greenhorns on Vimeo.

We Want You to Join Our CSA!

We have been hinting for some time that we would be introducing a C(ommunity) S(hared) A(griculture) program for this season. The program will build on the wildly successful harvest box program that we introduced in 2009, with some slight changes.

What is this CSA you say? Check out what Wikipedia has to say on the matter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture#Distribution_and_Marketing_Methods

For more details about our CSA program click on the poster below to make it bigger.

There are limited spots available to folks in the Lower Mainland (Abbotsford & Vancouver) so sign up now, or get in touch with us skeeterfarm (at) gmail.com for more info.

Happy eating!

Come farm with us!

Given that we will be growing a variety of new crops and expanding our marketing efforts this year, we have started the search for an additional farmer.

If you are energetic and have a strong work ethic and a desire to farm, contact us! Although we all help out with every farm task, we are looking for assistance with vegetable production/field work in particular. We would also welcome anyone interested in leading value-added product development (e.g. pickle production) and/or special events and promotions for the farm. Given that we all have jobs in addition to our work with Skeeter Farm, we are flexible about work arrangements. Previous experience in agriculture is not required.

So, have you been thinking about giving farming a try? Excited to get your hands in the dirt? Send us an email by March 31st, 2010 at skeeterfarm (at) gmail.com with some information about your background, availability, and the type of commitment you are interested in.

Soups to ward off the scurvy

Anyone else out there have a hard time buying vegetables at the grocery store this time of year? Especially since we started our little farm last year, it just seems strange to walk into a store and spend $4.99 on a pound of tomatoes shipped fresh from Spain.

Lately I have been noticing that my diet has changed significantly with the change in seasons. I eat much less fresh leafy greens and have switched over to root crops, namely potatoes but also beets, sweet potatoes, rutabagas and all that good stuff. Roots are great, but there are still a whole lot less veg in my diet compared to the summer months...and to be honest, its a lot harder to come up with things to eat when you feel a little pang of guilt every time you buy an pricey and not so great tasting imported vegetable. I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore locavore by any stretch of the imagination but I am trying this winter to be smart about what I am buying. Perhaps some of you readers feel the same way and might appreciate a couple good soups that you can make from mostly or entirely local ingredients. I shop mostly at Thrifty Foods and they happen to carry quite a bit of BC product in the produce department, even in February!

The following are a couple of lunch/dinner ideas which we fall back on frequently around our house. I have attempted to write recipes, but you'll have to just go with your judgement on quantities as I rarely measure.

1. Potato and leek soup: You will need - potatoes, leeks, yellow onion, some vegetable stock, butter and other seasonings like salt and pepper. I dice the potatoes and slice up the leeks and onion. Sautee the leeks and onion in butter til the onions are clear. Then add it to a pot of vegetable stock (although any stock will do) with the potatoes, add your seasonings. Bring it up to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft. Run it all through a blender and top it with some fresh chopped rosemary.

2. Pear and parsnip soup: This one came from a cookbook demonstration night that my friend took me to back in November. I had never cooked parsnips prior to making this soup, but now I'm hooked. I even eat them raw - they are like a sweet, earthy carrot. Another cool thing I learned at this cookbook night is that pears (which we grow a lot of in BC) keep for months in the fridge. Also, they ripen from the inside out, so when you are selecting from a tree or from the store, you can pick them really hard and they will ripen with time. So load up on pears while you still can. Okay so for this soup you need: 1 pear, a yellow onion, 2 large parsnips or more if they are small, about 4 or 5 cups of veggie broth, butter, flour, rosemary, seasonings like salt and pepper. I start by sauteeing the onions and parsnips (which you chop up) in butter in a large stock pot. Do this for about 5 minutes until the parsnips start to get soft, then add a few tablespoons of flour and cook a couple minutes more. Add the stock, and then the pear (cubed) and chopped rosemary. Simmer for about 15 minutes until parsnips are soft, then run it all through a blender and eat.

Both soups are pretty hearty so we just serve with bread and its a pretty good meal!

We are alway looking for new recipe ideas so please send us yours if you are willing to share.

-Amy

We are doing something special

Winter is the time for...banking! This year, we have decided to establish leads for each category of farm task in order to increase our efficiency. Under our new structure, I am leading our business management and marketing activities. So, I've been working on various spreadsheets and documents as well as talking with banks about business banking. It may sound boring, but I am loving it!

Anyway, I was recently in a conversation with a friend of mine who is a financial advisor. I spent a long time explaining our business model. Although we are a for-profit business, our plan is to slowly sell our equipment to the Barrowtown Agricultural Development Society so that it can be shared with other new farmers. We also have to think about succession planning so that our land is shared, either through incorporating new business partners or by welcoming other farm businesses onto our site. After awhile she stopped me and said, "You guys are doing something really special!" I had to agree. Even if it is challenging to set up, at the end of the day it will be worth it.

I feel very lucky to be part of such an exciting and unique project. This year feels much less scary to me and I can't wait to get seeds in the ground again!

Like Kids in a Candy Store

Last week Hannah, Jamie and I sat down for a planning meeting over some pizzas and managed to plough through our 2010 seed order.

There's something about doing a seed order that gives me that kid in the candy store feeling (or perhaps more appropriately, the Amy loose in an online shoe store type feeling). Its January, and it seems like the possibilities are endless as to what we can do this year. Last year we literally did not get seed in the ground until after June 1st, and we still managed to pull off 10 weeks at the market and even more for our CSA customers. This year, the seeding has already started with the garlic in the ground last October, and the first of our transplants will be started sometime in February if all goes well.

With the addition of a hoop hoop house on the site we have expanded our crop selection quite significantly to include things that should grow well under plastic, as well as added many more crops that for us will be experimental. Our main train of thought(s) when going about deciding what to plant is first, thinking about what we, and our foodie friends, want to eat. Then we reflect on what have seen at the markets in abundance, and what (if anything) we thought was missing from farmers markets. Jamie then adds in fancy knowledge about industry trends and new and unusual crops, and then we also consider that we have several different marketing streams - CSA, farmers markets, and bulk sales to customers for pickling and other needs. Lastly we take into account our previous growing experience. What crops did well on the site, held up well at the market and were worthwhile, financially, to grow.

I wont go into the varietal details of what we have decided to grow this year, otherwise this blog post would be far too lengthy, but for those who are interested here is a run down of the crops we have decided upon for 2010.

Lettuce, greens, beans, swiss chard, summer squash, scallions, storage onions, cabbage, carrots, peas, cauliflower, potatoes, beets, broccoli, kale, cucumbers for slicing and pickling, corn (eating, popping and decorative!), some lovely oriental vegetables like choi and daikon, spinach, winter squashes, pumpkins (this time ones that are good for eating and carving), brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes

and for the new stuff

eggplants (we only managed to grow a few last year), garlic, tomatoes, tomatillos, cape gooseberries, hot and sweet peppers, fennel, parsnips, celery, okra, collard greens, watermelons! cantaloupes! honeydews! turnips and leeks.

We are also doing cut flowers which are great at the market, but also for the bees and several varieties of herbs.

The list is long...and somewhat daunting. But this year already seems so much less scary than our first year and I am pretty confident that we will be able to pull it off. The beauty of starting off is that everything is one big experiment, so if we screw up somehow, we can just chalk it up to a learning experience and do differently next time round.

The pic is of Hannah diligently taking notes which no doubt helped us in our planning for this year. (Photo by Dave P.)

-Amy

Wintery Farm

I haven't been out to the farm at all in the last month so it seemed like a good idea to head out there yesterday to check things out.

It looks so different with all the leaves off the trees, but still beautiful.

Still some food left - kale, carrots, cabbage and broccoli

Jamie has been busy tapping some of the maples on the farm. He is hoping to make some maple syrup and I am hoping to eat it.

December was a bit of a lull in our farming year with Hannah away and both Jamie and I taking a break from veggie planning. Come January the work starts up again and we are hoping to have more of a head start than last year. More updates then.

Happy Holidays!

Amy